Tour de Airfix

True ... just shows there are always other ways to look at these things 👍. Still annoyed me 😂

You're on a mission today 😉 I agree they are not coins, I was only quoting what Airfix are calling them ... "Behold the unveiling of the limited-edition 2024 Airfix Club Coin!" They are worthless sparkly things that attract the magpies amongst us. Just because I don't get them doesn't mean others can't 😊

that's really interesting. I've often thought of printing my own decals ... but that's as far as I've got, Hannants keep on giving me the easy option 😉

Excellent .. love the skirts! I'm trying my regular sources to get hold one of these. Airfix have sold out.

Thanks for that, Andy, I appreciated that and that's an excellent and rapid build you've done there! ... Meanwhile, I thought this morning I'd have another look at those skirts. Offering them up to the Stug brackets shows how different the fittings are .... So out came the knife and I moved the hoops to better align with the teeth ... I think it kind of worked ... All this has done though, is to postpone that decision I need to make on the decals 😂 🤔

The Airfix 1:35 scale Stug IV is almost there. I just need to decide which decals to affix. I used a range of weathering products in an attempt to tone down that jazzy Normandy 1944 camouflage, finding a set of Abteilung 502 oils to be the most successful. The camouflage colours are all Vallejo which came out much brighter than the set of Hataka paints I used when last attempting this pattern. I have found Valejo's green pigments, with the single exception of their Olive Drab, to be a a little suspect. It's obviously not an uncommon problem as I've found Ammo Mig suffering this issue too. @Topcat_Ern as you recall, I was hoping to be able to use a set of Panzer IV side skirts which as you kindly pointed out this kit includes the spues for, however, the fittings just did not line up. I guess these were designed to work with the higher tank structure. I also tried using the Stug's brackets but, again, they did not align to the skirts. Yes, I guess I could have scratch built some, but having them was to be a 'nice to have' rather than a must have. I'm just going to have to get my hands on a Panzer IV now, as at least I have the skirts all painted up ready and prepared 😊 I’ve therefore, gone with the 'out of the box' build although my finish will be for a Northern Europe and not Easter Front setting. The figure is from David Harris's 3D Gizmo range of Panzer crew. I chose the resting crew member to mirror that I used in my Cromwell, leaving the tank commander figure for another build as he wouldn't have fitted through his dedicated hatch without some major surgery! For the decals, I'm pondering whether to just add the crosses, leaving the numbers and division markings in the box. My dilemma is that Airfix provide for the 4th SS PanzerGrenadier Division which served on the Eastern Front while it was the 17th SS PanzerGrenadier Division "Gotz von Berlichingen" which was in Normandy. Will anyone other than myself notice this or care? Also, in archive photos I have found I see no numbers nor division markings, just crosses. What do you think? 🤷‍♂️

Yey .. look what I've uncovered in my spare decals box. It's only the unused set from when I first built this kit 15+ years ago!

Does anyone else here follow ModelU, the Bristol based 3D Printer of scale model figures? They are probably better known by our Hornby members as they have majored in railway figures for many years. More recently they have tested the military modelling world with some excellent WW2 army figures, many of which I have bought for a number of dioramas. Last week they launched a range of WW2 RAF personnel which are truly amazing. I pre-ordered 5 different sets thinking I'd use them over a few projects but couldn't resist adding them all to my D-Day Air Assault and sorry Airfix, the supplied figures have been relegated to my spare figures box! If interested in seeing more, I've created an SCM Album for this build here https://www.scalemates.com/profiles/mate.php?id=82465&p=albums&album=111002&view=thumbs

Back to the Airfix Stug IV, having been distracted working on completing a couple of D-Day dioramas! So, I've added the Normandy 3 tone camouflage. It’s way too bright at the moment but this will be addressed once I apply a light fading wash. I also have tools and side skirts to fit, oh yes and a crew member. More to follow 😊

Awesome, Andy. Thank you 🙏

Yes, John, exactly that. 👍

I do love the occasional charity shop purchase. This is a find by a good friend of mine who always seems to be able to strike scale model gold! This is the 1:72 Airfix kit No. A50037 as released in 2008 using the 1958 Beaufighter and, I think 1975, Messerschmitt tooling. I built this classic Messerschmitt Bf109 v Beaufighter Dogfight Double over 15 years ago when I was on a mission to build every one of these great kits before they got discontinued. While their fragile stands have not stood the test of time, I still have the old models, each one reminding me how happy I was just using the little pots of acrylic paint, tube of cement and a hairy brush! This build is going to be so nostalgic, the kits themselves a far cry from the latest and greatest Airfix offerings. It does look, however, as though my original decals applied back in 2008 have faired somewhat better than those in the box. I wonder if I have anything suitable in spare decals stash?!

I'm making progress with the Airfix Stug IV. It always surprises me as to how much time the wheels take! 20 wheels made of 3 pieces which I sprayed first with tyre black and then added the dark yellow to the wheel centres. Meanwhile the base got my usual black primer followed by the dark yellow base colour. This freed the way for me to then fit the wheels and the flexible tracks, which I had pre-tinted with a layer of rust, and then the upper sections of the Stug which I had pre-primed with black. The upper parts of the Stug build very neatly in layers with no gapping, although a bit of tape was required here and there to hold the joins safely together. After the fitting the minuscule handles and hatches, leaving the wider gunners hatch open ... the only one large enough to install a figure ... it was time for a bit more black primer followed by a light dusting of dark yellow. This Stug will be having the three tone yellow, green and red camouflage so I wasn't looking for a perfect coverage. One mistake I made when fitting the spare wheel carrier was to cut the brackets between carrier and track guards too short! I, therefore, replaced them with two pieces of similar sized fuse wire, drilled and secured top and bottom. I'd ideally like to add those side plates to this Stug, they come with the kit, but there are no fitting instructions provided either by Airfix nor with the original Academy kit. All suggestions welcomed 😊 I'm really loving this journey into the world of 1:35 AFV kits 👍

Totally agree, I was tempted but not that much. Would have been nice if Airfix had upped the members’ discount to even 20% for this period. Technically this would have seemed an easy thing to do and a lovely gesture to its loyal membership 😊

I’m really getting a taste for Airfix's new 1:35 scale AFVs! While I consider the finishing touches required on my Cromwell, I thought I’d make start on another of my 1:35 scale tanks that I have in my stash. As I'm currently on a D-Day 80th Anniversary mission, the best fit for this seemed to me to be that Stug IV that I recently received as part of the Airfix Weathering Starter Kit bundle. While the kit comes with painting instructions for the 4th SS PanzerGrenadier Division on the Eastern Front, I believe the Stug IV also saw action with a couple of units in Normandy during the summer of 1944. This is a re-boxed Academy kit, which when released in 2018 actually came with two sets of decals, coincidentally a similar set to that Airfix provide for the 4th SS PanzerGrenadier Division and more relevant to me, a set for the 17th SS PanzerGrenadier Division "Gotz von Berlichingen" in Normandy 1944. This is a great looking kit, with the only slight disappointment being the choice of just the one set of flexible tracks which are interestingly advertised on the front of the box as being the "special feature". After building the Cromwell, I'm now really sold on the solid track pieces which add a much more realistic look to the finished model. That aside, I am so far very impressed with the moulding quality and fit. It's interesting having the first set of instructions giving one a "dot-to-dot' guide to all the holes which need drilling! This being long before knowing what these are going to be for, I pressed on trusting Academy knew what they were asking. It wasn't that long before I had the chassis and wheel axles built. I hope to make a start on the wheels and upper gun section tomorrow.

Is that because of your interior mods or have you hit on a challenge with the new moulding?

This afternoon I got to fit those circa 70 pieces of track to my CROMWELL tank. This is how I went about it: 1. Using a standard liquid cement, I glued the top and bottom pieces, including in this case, the string of 13 and 15 single tracks which I fixed to the top piece of track. 2. I left both pieces of track for about 30 minutes for the glue to take hold but not to let it harden solid. 3. I fitted the bottom track first, using the weight of the model to keep it in place and using the residual glue from the links to lightly bond this in place. With the tank sitting on the lower piece of track, II fitted the upper length, moulding the connected single links around the idler and sprocket wheels. I was then able to invert the model to apply glue to the two ends and secure them in place to complete the circle of track. 4. Once it looked OK from below, I flipped it back over and depressed the flexible upper track to sit nicely against the wheels. 5. I then repeated this process for the other side, such that by the time I had to return to the model the first track was sufficiently glued in place that it did not move as I flipped it over and around. I will now leave them to dry and harden off over night and can then touch up and add further weathering as required. I hope this helps ... 😊

Agreed .. my error 🤦‍♂️

I’m just about to attempt this for the first time in years on my Airfix Churchill tank … will keep you posted! 😳

Hey, @Ratch I’m just reading Bill Bellamy’s excellent account of being a Troop Leader and he talks of having to remove links on his tank as they stretch over the weeks of use. So it happened for real too 😉

Yes! That would be a great idea 👍

A few years ago I built Italeri’s Pegasus Bridge and their Horsa glider kits. Both sets came with what I thought were some really nice WW2 British paratroopers. I think they were originally Esci figures. I must still have a set of them in my stash, as there were far too many of them for me to use 😊 I had in my youth a set of Airfix’s 1:32 scale British paratroopers which I remember being quite excellent. What a shame I no longer have them 🤷‍♂️

I’m not getting this new fad of Airfix and others for producing coins. What’s one supposed to do with them? If, for example, Airfix were to produce a stand for our models with a slot in which to place the coin then may be I’d see some sense in them. 🤷‍♂️

Well recovered 👍

Ratch, inspired by your build I’ve decided to give mine a go. Having recently picked up this Bill Bellamy’s story of life as Cromwell Tank Commander with 7th Armoured Division, as is my way, I’m ready to immerse myself into his world!